David Heckman had been fl ying RC for
eight years when he began building
and fl ying rubber-powered FF models.
He wanted to scratch-build his third FF
airplane and settled on the VariEze, designed
by Burt Rutan, for its box fuselage with a
swept wing, eliminating the need for dihedral.
David found that making a kit was the
easiest way to construct the VariEze, by
cutting out a template and rubber-cementing
it to heavy paper. He taped the plans to a
building board and covered them with plastic
wrap for protection, pinning the parts on top
of the plastic.
The canard was constructed from 1/16
sheet balsa or plywood, with 1/16 square balsa used for the
winglets. The fuselage was a box cross-section, with the two
fuselage sides built from 1/16 square balsa sticks. The wing was
constructed in right and left sections with 1/16 square balsa for
the spar and LE and 1/8 x 1/16 balsa for the TE.
Landing gear was made from 1/32-inch diameter wire. The
builder could omit nose gear if he or she desired, because the
full-scale VariEze had retractable nose gear. A Peck-Polymers
43/4-inch propeller was installed to run in reverse and trimmed
to 4 inches. If it is any larger, the resulting torque will cause
barrel rolls.
The engine housings and intake were made from paper
and painted to keep weight
down. The main landing gear
wire was covered with paper
for the same reasons. David
used Japanese tissue for
covering and attached it with
white glue instead of dope, to
save weight.
David noted that
the model was a pusher,
launching was fairly normal.
“I hope that anyone who
tries to build the VariEze
enjoys it as much as I have,”
he wrote.
VariEze was featured
in the August 2002 MA as
AMA Plans Service listing
934 and is available for $5
plus shipping and handling.
AMA members can access
the magazine’s digital library
on the Academy’s website
to read more about it. See
page 155 or go to www.
modelaircraft.org/plans.aspx
for ordering information.
Edition: Model Aviation - 2012/12
Page Numbers: 139